Social and Emotional Needs of Gifted Children

Social/Emotional Issues of Gifted Children

Outline

Definition of giftedness

Identification of gifted individuals

Nature of gifted individuals

Maladjustment (Social/Emotional Issues)

Recommendations

Definition of Gifted

Gifted Being born with a quality or trait valued by one’s society

Musical Ability

Athleticism

Physical Beauty

Intelligence

…Valued By One’s Society

Athleticism

Physical Beauty

Gifted vs. Gifted and Talented Francoys Gagne

Gifts      Talents 10,000 hour rule Daniel Levitin, Michael Howe, Malcolm Gladwell, and Many, many others

NYS Reflects Gifts      Talents Those pupils who show evidence of high performance capability and exceptional potential… [including] those pupils who require educational programs or services beyond those normally provided by the regular school program in order to realize their full potential.” (New York Education Law § 4452)

Note on New York State’s Requirements

Define Giftedness as requiring different services

Mandate that all students be assessed and parents of gifted children be notified

Don’t mandate that anything be done for the gifted children

Don’t set aside any money to provide gifted education for those defined as requiring it

NY One of 7 States Least Supportive of Gifted Children

For Our Purposes Today, Gifted: Having an inborn cognitive ability more than two standard deviations above the mean (IQ of 130 or greater)

Giftedness is Abnormal Top 3% of population in any given area of ability

Identifying Gifted Individuals Theory and Assessment of Cognition

Cattel, Horn Carrol Woodcock

Screening -> Assessment

Screening (large, inclusive filter)

Assessment (more accurate, finer filter)

Screening

Group test of cognitive abilities

State Achievement Tests*

Parent referral

Teacher referral

Administrative referral

Self referral

Assessment

WJTCA-NU

WISC-IV

Serving Gifted Children Well

Define

Identify

Differentiate

Academic

Social/Emotional

Nature of Gifted Individuals

Gifted People Are Different

Neorosystem

Perception

Behavior

Environment

Neurology

Larger Frontal Lobes

Faster synapses

More efficient processes (Sanjay Gupta)

Men and Women (Dr. Richard Haier)

Gray

White

Neurology  Perception

Perception  Behavior Overexcitabilities (Kazimierz Dabrowski,1902-1980)

Overexcitability Means Increased…

Sensitivity

Awareness

Intensity

Areas of Intensity

Psychomotor

Sensual

Intellectual

Imaginational

Emotional

Psychomotor OE “Capacity for being active and energetic" (Piechowski, 1991, p. 287)

Psychomotor OE

talk compulsively

act impulsively,

display nervous habits

compulsively organize

others may find them overwhelming.

seem never to be still

Common Misdiagnosis ADHD

Sensual OE Heightened experience of sensual pleasure

Sensual OE Heightened experience of sensual pleasure or displeasure emanating from sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing (Dabrowski & Piechowski, 1977; Piechowski, 1979, 1991)

Sensual OE +

Increased and early appreciation of

Music

Language

Art

Endless delight from

Tastes

Smells

Textures

Sounds

sights.

These children may also become so absorbed in their love of a particular piece of art or music that the outside world ceases to exist

Sensual OE +

Over stimulated or uncomfortable

May withdraw from stimulation.

Distractions from schoolwork (ADD)

Rough clothing

Cafeteria Smells

Sounds

Pencil pressure

Pleasure and Pain Are More Intense

Examples

Intellectual OE Marked need to seek understanding and truth, to gain knowledge, and to analyze and synthesize (Dabrowski & Piechowski, 1977; Piechowski, 1979, 1991)

Intellectual OE

Intensely curious

Often avid readers

Keen observers

Able to engage in prolonged intellectual effort

Tenacious in problem solving when they choose .

Elaborate planning

Detailed visual recall

Love theory, thinking about thinking, and moral thinking

Strong concerns about moral and ethical issues

Sometimes impatient with others who cannot sustain their intellectual pace

So excited about an idea that they interrupt at inappropriate times

Examples

Imaginational OE Rich association of images and impressions, frequent use of image and metaphor, facility for invention and fantasy, detailed visualization, and elaborate dreams (Dabrowski & Piechowski,1977; Piechowski, 1979, 1991)

Imaginational OE

Mix truth with fiction

Create [internal] private worlds

Imaginary companions and dramatizations to escape boredom

Difficulty staying tuned to rigid academic curriculum. (They may write stories or draw instead)

Difficulty completing tasks when some incredible idea captures their thoughts

Examples

Personal Experience

Emotional OE Intense emotions, intense empathy, and magnified affective expression (Piechowski, 1991).

Emotional OE

Stomachaches

Blushing

Concern with death and depression

Capacity for deep relationships

Strong emotional attachments to people, places, and things

Acutely aware of their own feelings

Often carry on inner dialogs and practice self-judgment

Often accused of “overreacting”

Overexcitability represents a real difference in the fabric of life and quality of experience (Lind, 2001)

Examples

"One who manifests several forms of overexcitability, sees reality in a different, stronger and more multisided manner" (Dabrowski, 1972, p. 7)

Neorosystem

Perception

Behavior

Environment

Gifted Behavior is Abnormal

Experience of Gifted People is Not Normal Being Gifted Doesn’t Feel Like a Gift

Neorosystem

Perception

Behavior

Environment

Environment Are you gifted?

Beauty Backlash Don’t hate me Because I’m beautiful.

Boredom

How Much Time is Wasted? 140 IQ = 50% of their time 170 IQ = 99% of their time Hollingworth (1942), Renzulli, Silverman (1991)

Example from Weekly 25-Word Spelling Unit

Pretest = 96%

Post test = 100%

Time: 45 minutes of drill time per week: Learned: 1 spelling word

Homework for Spelling Make a Word Search Puzzle Using All 25 Spelling words

Child’s Solution

Personality Type Myers Briggs

Percent Introversion

Percent Intuition

Percent Thinking

Percent Perceiving

Percent INTP

What Are the Implications?

Differences

Neurological

Perceptual

Behavioral

Environmental

Maladjustment (Social/Emotional Issues) Leta Hollingworth

Ideal IQ

125-145

160

Spike in normal curve

Interaction Nature of Environment Nature of Gifted People

Interaction Enriching Home Flexible School Cognitive Peers Absent Parents Limited Resources Rigid School Small Population 1 st Grader with 148 IQ Emotional OE

Outliers

Ability

Birth year

Birth month

Chance

Culture

Family Background

Time (10,000 hours)

Race and perception

Inliers Gifted children who suffer socially and emotionally and don’t enjoy developing to their potential

Myth Gifted Kids Are Lucky and Will Succeed Without Anything Extra From Us

Success of U.S. Advanced Placement Students (National Excellence: A case for developing America’s Talent) Compared with the top students of 13 other nations

Biology 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Chemistry 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Physics 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Algebra 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Calculus 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 (National Excellence: A case for developing America’s Talent)

Excuse “ We are egalitarian and we educate a higher percentage of our youth than other nations.”

Correction (Ross, 1993) United States Advanced Placement Students International Competitor’s Top Students

“ American students are at or near the back of the pack in international comparisons. If we don’t make radical changes, that is where we are going to stay” (America 2000,1991).

Negative Characteristics of Cognitively Gifted People

Uneven Mental Development

Social Difficulties

Underachievement—especially in uninteresting areas

Nonconformity—sometimes in disturbing directions

Perfectionism, sometimes extreme to the point of crippling

Self-doubt, poor self-image

Depression

Common Negative Characteristics of Creative Persons

Overactive

Excessively Emotional

Indifferent to conventions and courtesies

Questions rules, laws, and authority

Stubborn

Egocentric, intolerant, tactless

Careless, disorderly

Arrogant, cynical, sarcastic

Impatient, demanding

Absentminded, forgetful

Argumentative

Sloppy and disorganized

Rebellious, uncooperative

Gifted Children Don’t Just… “ make it on their own”

Indications of Giftedness

18 months: Started reading The New York Times

4 Years: Taught himself Latin, and read Caesar's Gallic Wars (in Latin)

4 years: learned Greek alphabet and read Homer in Greek

6 years: learned Russian, French, German, and Hebrew, and soon after, Turkish and Armenian.

6 years: started grammar school

4-8 years: Wrote four books, two on anatomy and astronomy

7 years: Passed Harvard Medical School anatomy exam

8 years: Passed MIT entrance exam

11 years: became youngest student to ever enroll at Harvard

11 years: lectured Harvard Mathematical Club on 'Four-Dimensional Bodies.'

As an adult: knew approximately 200 languages of the world, and could translate among them instantly

Dropout Rates (Michael, 2005) General Population Gifted Population 11% 25%

Depending on one’s definition of gifted, the New York State dropout rate among gifted children in who do not receive intervention services is as high as 25% (Michael, 2005)

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